Window mounting for streamlined vehicles



Odi. 11, 1938. Y 'E L, HELWK; 2,132,688

WINDOW MOUNTING FOR STREAMLINED VEHICLES VFiled. Dec. 16, 1937 v n" N I ATTORNE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WINDOW MOUNTING FOR STREAMLINED VEHICLES Edward L. Helwig, Bristol, Pa., assignor to Rhm & Haas Company, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application December 16, 1937, Serial No. 180,149 s claims. (c1. 244-129) This invention relates to a window and to the increases the likelihood of optical distortion. The method of mounting the transparent material in Windows with crimped edges, furthermore, have the frame. It relates more particularly to wina tendency to slip out of their mountings just as dows for stream-lined vehicles, especially airthe beveled ones do.

craft in which a smooth, continuous surface is It is an object of this invention to provide a highly desirable. It further relates to a method method whereby the windows, preferably of plasfor mounting the transparent sheet material tic material, can be mounted in the body of the whereby an air-tight joint between the glass, airplane in such manner that the window and frame and body of the vehicle is obtained. It also frame form a continuous stream-line surface relates to the use of certainglass-clear, transparwith the body of the fuselage. It is a further 10 ent, plastic materials in the manufacture of such object of this invention to provide a method of windows. mounting the windows whereby an air-tight joint In order for the pilot of an airplane to be able is obtained. This permits atmospheric pressure to see his surroundings, windows are necessary in to be maintained within the cabin even when flythe control cabin. Heretofore many of these ing at Very high altitudes. v 15 have been made of glass or certain transparent These objects are accomplished by cementlng plastics. Glass has the disadvantage that it canto the inside surface of the transparent sheet not be easily shaped to conform with the streamlugs or buttons in such manner that about oneline contours of the body of the plane. The half of the button extends beyond the edge of the plastic materials can be so formed but up to the sheet. The sheet, of course, is first cut to the 20 present there has been no satisfactory method proper size so that it nts exactly in the opening of mounting the material in the frame so that cut in the fuselage and it is of such thickness that both frame and transparent material form a con- When put in place the Outer edges 0f the Sheet tinuous surface with the body of the airplane. and the edges of the opening are exactly flush.

It is well known that even small irregularities in Preferably the thickness 0f the Sheet iSr exaetiy 25 the surface or protuberances greatly increase the the same as that of the frame surrounding the resistance of the plane when moving at high Opening in the fuselage as this simplifies the speeds. Thus, in order to obtain the greatest efhmethod of mounting. 'I'he sheets are placed in ciency from the power plant, every endeavor has the Opening. thus bringing the extending portion been made to build the outer surfaces of the plane 0f the button in contact with the inner Surface 3o strictly according tc the stream-line enect and tc 0f the fuselage. A ring gasket. preferably of have as few protuberans as possible on that rubber, which has slots or holes cut in it to receive surface' When glass Windows are gn'lploye| it is the buttons iS then placed alOllIld the edge. OVEI customary to bevel the edges from the outside this gasket iS placed a metal Strip 0r ring Which and use a beveled retaining molding to hold the iS clamped down tight 0n the gasket by Ineens 01' 35 windows in p1ace- This method has also been bolts extending through the body of the fuselage. used to some extent with plastic Windows. Il; 1S The heads of these bolts are hat and countersunk not very satisfactory, however, as the beveled in the body and are pulled up tight by means panel is weakened at the mounting which ls of nuts on the inside of the plane.

40 just the place where the maximum strength is The invention may be more accurately de- 40 desired. Furthermore, the beveled surfaces have scribed with reference to the accompanying a tendency to push the windows out of their drawing in Whiehmoldings. This is particularly true with plastic Fig- 1 iS a fragmentary Dian View 0f the inside windows. To overcome this latter objection, some Surface 01' a Plastic Sheet equipped with Circular manufacturers have milled a rectangular ange buttons, 45

around the windows and used rectangular retain- FigY 2 is an edge VieW 0f the Same Sheet. ing moldings. This overcomes the latter obiec- Fig. 3 ls fragmentary view of the mounting of tion but weakens the panels stili more than bevelthe plastic sheet as viewed from the outside of lng the edges. the body, showing the mounting of two sheets of u Others in working with plastic windows have plastic in one opening,

attempted to solve this problem by crimping the Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section on line edges of the windows to accommodate a beveled IV-IV of Fig. 3, and retaining molding. This, however, makes the Fig. 5 is a similar cross section on line V-V forming of curved Windows very diicult as it of Fig. 3.

greatly increases the complexity of the mold and Referring more specifically to the drawing the u plastic sheet 2 has buttons or lugs 3 cemented to the inside surface in such manner that about one-half of each button extends beyond the edge of the sheet. These sheets may be square, rectangular, circular, elliptical or any other desired' shape and may be fiat or shaped to conform with the stream-lining of the body. 1n the drawing they are shown square and flat for convenience. 'I'he buttons may be any desired shape but circular ones are most convenient.

Any suitable plastic may be used for the manufacture of the windows and any suitable material may also be used for the lugs. The preferred material for both is a polymer of methyl methacrylate. When such material is used, the lugs may be attached to the sheet by moistening the surfaces of each `with some monomeric methyl methacrylate, placing the lugs in position and holding them while the monomer is polymerized. In this manner the lug becomes an integral part of the sheet and is not merely joined to it by means of an adhesive.

In assembling the window the plastic sheet is placed in the opening cut in the body l of the fuselage so that the surface of the lug comes in contact with the inner surface of the body. A rubber gasket 5 in which holes are cut correspending to the lugs is then placed around the edge of the sheet. This gasket is pressed tightly against both body and sheet and is held in place by a metal ring 6 which is drawn` up tight by means of bolts 8 which pass through the gasket and the body of the fuselage. When the window is so large that more than oneI sheet of plastic isV required, the two sheets may be joined as shown particularly in Fig. 5. In this case a metal strip 9 is inserted between the adjacent edges of the sheets. The bolts lil which hold the assembly in place pass through this strip, which is fastened at its ends by any suitable means to the body of the fuselage, and through the strip I and when the nuts are taken up an air-tight joint is made due to the sealing eifect of the rubber gasket.

This method of making the windows has many advantages over the methods heretofore used. The outer surface of the windows conforms perfectly with the stream-lining of the body and there are no projections of any kind to increase the friction in the air. The plastic material may be made to withstand any differences in pressure between the inside and the outside by properly choosing the thickness of the sheet. The lugs when properly attached to the sheet are capable of withstanding any pressure encountered in 115'- ing. The size of the sheets and lugs and the maximum of pressure difference will determine the number of .lugs required for any given window.

This method of mounting the transparent sheets in the fuselage of airplanes is applicable to all transparent material such as glass, Celluloid, cellulose acetate, vinyl resins, methacrylic resins, etc. The preferred material, however, is polymeric methyl methacrylate or a joint polymer containing principally methyl methacrylate. 'I'his material is sufficiently strong for all purposes, it is' not affected by the weather, is not easily shattered and remains clear and transparent indennitely.

I claim:

1. A window adapted for use in vehicles having stream-lined bodies comprising a sheet of transparent material fitting flush withpthe outer surface of the body. lugs on the inner surface of said sheet adapted to contact the inner surface of the body and clamping means adapted to hold said transparent sheet in place.

2. A window adapted for use in airplanes comprising a sheet of transparent material tting flush with the outer surface of the fuselage, lugs on the inner surface of said sheet adaptedl to contact the inner surface of the fuselage and clamping means adapted to hold said transparent sheet in place.

3. A window adapted for use in airplanes comprislng a sheet of transparent material fitting flush with the outer surface of the fuselage and conforming with the stream-lining thereof, lugs on the inner surface of said sheet adapted to contact the inner surface of the fuselage and clamping means adapted to hold said transparent sheet in place.

4. A window adapted for use in airplanes comprising a sheet of transparent material fitting flush with the outer surface of the fuselage and conforming with the stream-lining thereof, lugs n the inner surface of said sheet adapted to contact the inner surface of the fuselage and clamping means including a metal frame and bolts passing through the frame and the body of the fuselage and a gasket between said frame and the body adapted to press the transparent sheet in place and form an air-tight point.

5. A window adapted for use in airplanes comprising a sheet of transparent plastic material fitting flush with the outer surface of the fuselage and conforming with the streamlining thereof, lugs on the inner surface of said sheet adapted to contact the inner surface of the fuselage and clamping means adapted to hold said transparent plastic sheet in place.

6. A window adapted for use in airplanes comprising a transparent sheet of polymeric methyl methacrylate fitting flush with the outer surface of the fuselage and conforming with the streamlining thereof, lugs of polymeric methyl methacrylate'joined to the inner surface of said sheet and adapted to contact the inner surface of the fuselage. clamping means including a metal frame and bolts passing through said frame and said fuselage and a rubber gasket having holes to receive said lugs and adapted to press said sheet in place and form an air-tight joint.

'1. A window adapted for use in airplanes comprising more than one transparent sheet of plastic material, said sheets tting flush with thc outside surface of the fuselage and conforming with the stream-lining thereof, lugs attached to the inside surface of said sheets along all edges. said lugs adapted to contact the inside surface of the fuselage, a metal strip lying between adjacent edges of said sheets and contacting the lugs on those edges, and being flush with the outer surface, clamping means including a peripheral frame and a cross member corresponding in position with said metal strip and bolts arranged to clamp said frame to the fuselage and said strip to the cross member, a rubber gasket lying between said frame and the plastic sheet and between said metal strip and the cross member and adapted to press said plastic sheets into position and form an air-tight joint.

8. A window adapted for use in airplanes `comprising more than one transparent sheet of methyl methacrylate, said sheets tting ush with the outside surface of the fuselage and conforming with the stream-lining thereof, lugs attached to the inside surface of said sheets along all edges. said lugs adapted to contact the inside surface of the fuselage, a metal strip lying $3,182,088l between adjacent edges of said sheets and con- Patent No. 2,152, 688.

EDwARD L. HEIHIG.

kasket lying between said frame and the methyl methacrylate sheets and between said metal strip and the cross member and adapted to press said methyl methacrylste sheets into position and form an air-tight joint.

WARD L. HELWIG.

CERTIFICATE VOF' C OR HECT ION'.

October 11 1958 It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numberedpate'nt requiring correction as follows: Page 2, second column, line 28, claim Li, for the word "point'I read Iioint; and that the., seid Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patentl Office.

signed and sealed this 27th day of December, A. D. 1958.

(Seal) Henry Van Arsdale Acting Commissioner of Patente.

$3,182,088l between adjacent edges of said sheets and con- Patent No. 2,152, 688.

EDWARD L. HELwIG.

kasket lying between said frame and the methyl methacrylate sheets and between said metal strip and the cross member and adapted to press said methyl methacrylste sheets into position and form an air-tight joint.

EDWARD L. HELWIG.

CERTIFICATE VOF' C OR HECT ION'.

October 11 1958 It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numberedpate'nt requiring correction as follows: Page 2, second column, line 28, claim Li, for the word "point'I read Iioint; and that the., seid Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patentl Office.

signed and sealed this 27th day of December, A. D. 1958.

(Seal) Henry Van Arsdale Acting Commissioner of Patente. 

